Exercising the legs, is never too late, even after the age of 60 years
By Eugene Onyeji
A study from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark has found that old age catches up faster with people whose legs are not engaged in physical activities.
The study shows that two weeks of inactivity of the legs can weaken the muscle strength by a third which is equivalent to 20-30 years of aging.
As we put on years and keep getting old on a daily basis, our feet must always remain active and strong, just as we should not be afraid of our hair turning grey, skin sagging, and/or wrinkles on our faces.
Among the signs of longevity, long fit life as summarized by the popular US Magazine “Prevention”, strong leg muscles are listed on the top, as the most important and essential one in aging.
Read Also: Applications open for Climate Champions Youth Fellowship 2022
According to the study, if you don’t move your legs for just two weeks, your real leg strength will decrease by 10 years. When our leg muscles weaken, it will take a long time to recover, even if we do rehabilitation and exercises, later.
Therefore, regular exercise like walking is very important as the whole-body weight/ load remains and rests on the legs.
The feet are a kind of pillar, bearing the entire weight of the human body. Interestingly, 50% of a person’s bones & 50% of the muscles, are in the two legs. The largest & strongest joints & bones of the human body are also in the legs. It is the strong bones, strong muscles, and flexible joints that form the Iron Triangle that carries the most important load in the human body.
Walking is very important because 70% of human activity and burning of energy in one’s life is done by two feet. The foot is the center of body locomotion and it is said that when a person is young, his/ her thighs have enough strength, to lift a small car of 800 kg!
Both the legs together have 50% of the nerves of the human body, 50% of the blood vessels, and 50% of the blood is flowing through them. It is the largest circulatory network that connects the body.
Only when the feet are healthy then the convection current of blood flows, smoothly, so people who have strong leg muscles will definitely have a strong heart.
Here are the things you need to know about walking and keeping the bone strong:
1. As a person gets older, the accuracy & speed of transmission of instructions between the brain and the legs decreases, unlike when a person is young.
2. In addition, the so-called Bone Fertilizer Calcium will sooner or later be lost with the passage of time, making the elderly more prone to bone fractures.
3. Bone fractures in the elderly can easily trigger a series of complications, especially fatal diseases such as brain thrombosis.
4. 15% of elderly patients generally, will die maximum within a year of a thigh-bone fracture.
5. Exercising the legs, is never too late, even after the age of 60 years.
6. Although our feet/legs will gradually age with time, exercising our feet/ legs is a life-long task.
7. Only by regularly strengthening the legs, one can prevent or reduce further aging
Please walk for at least 30-40 minutes daily to ensure that your legs receive sufficient exercise and to ensure that your leg muscles remain healthy.